In Defeat, a Vintage Federer Appears

During His Wimbledon Run to the Final, Roger Was Roger Again

Roger Federer wasn't supposed to be there. In the wake of this maddening but beautiful loss, remember that. Federer will say he expected to be there again, but he had to know the chatter. Of course he did. Federer may live a gilded life, but he is human. He surely was aware of that prolonged stretch of pessimism about his chances to win—or even reach the final—of a tennis Grand Slam. Any Slam. The chirping began when the losses in major tournaments began to pile up. There were a few to Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. But the list also included Sergiy Stakhovsky, who beat Federer at...